Estonia decided not to renew the residence permit of the leader of the Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate. According to the country's interior minister, Metropolitan Jevgeni poses a threat to Estonia's national security.
in western countries there has long been an agreement between the church and the state that they do not interfere in each other's affairs. In Estonia, however, the state decided on Thursday to intervene in an exceptional way in the position of the leader of the Orthodox Church under the Moscow Patriarchate in the country.
Namely, Estonia decided that it will no longer renew the Russian metropolitan Yevgeni residence permit. The country's interior minister Lauri Läänemets justified the decision by the fact that Jevgeni currently poses a threat to Estonia's national security.
Yevgenisecularly named Valery Reshetnikovcan also be seen as having stepped from the church grounds to the state and political grounds.
In the war in Ukraine, he has supported Russia and done honor to the Kremlin.
This does not fit in with the values and legal environment of Estonia, which sides with Ukraine, stated the head of the border guard (PPA) of the northern prefecture Indrek Aru For Estonian Public Radio to ERR on Thursday.
PPA can be characterized as Estonia's police and border guard agency.
Jevgen's residence permit expires at the beginning of February. So he has to leave the country within a couple of weeks. Last time, Estonia had time to renew the metropolitan's residence permit just before Russia started its extensive war of aggression in Ukraine in February 2022.
of Moscow the Orthodox Church under the Patriarchate is the largest congregation in Estonia, next to the Evangelical Lutheran Church.
In 2012, five percent of Estonians were Orthodox and seven percent belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church. Estonia is considered the most secularized, i.e. the least religious, country in Europe.
For now, it seems that the Estonian Orthodox Church will be without a leader, at least for a while. However, PPA leader Aru emphasized to ERR that the rejection of Metropolitan Jevgen's residence permit is only related to him, not to the Orthodox Church.
On the other hand, in Russia, the Orthodox Church has also appeared as Russia's supporter in the war in Ukraine. After the war, Patriarch of Moscow and Russia Kirill for example stated that the President Vladimir Putin would have received a direct mandate from God to start a war in Ukraine.
The relationship between Yevgeni and Viro quickly turned tense after Kirill's statements. At no point did Yevgeni actually distance himself from the views of the Russian patriarch, but was mostly content to statethat the church is not on the side of any war.
#Estonia #Estonia #considered #Orthodox #Church #leader39s #views #threat #security #renew #residence #permit
